My Mother and Father....

[rickcharles606]

Anyone who's been snusing for awhile may be able to answer this one, so help if you can. My father and Mother both want to try snus, which in and of it's self is great. The problem is this, my father has a full set of upper dentures, and I'm not sure that he will be able to put a portion in his upper lip and get full nicotine absorption. Does anyone here know of a person with dentures that snuses? Is nicotine absorbed through the lip or gums, or both?

He's wanting to try snus to stop smoking, he smokes a lot and has had heart issues in the past. So he feels that smoking is far worse than snusing, after all it's just a nicotine delivery system, and a better one at that.

So let me know peoples...lol and thanks in advance. I love my parents and want them to stop smoking too.

[Yamaha760]

I tried to get my Mom to quit smoking. Explained all the benefits and she seemed intrigued. I may have made a bad decision on the first portion I gave her to try. It was Catch Eucalyptus. My thinking was the mint and milder flavor might grab her. Not exactly....I laugh every time I think of the expression on her face. But she did try it....I was getting somewhere. She also has dentures so I asked if they completely covered her gums. She said they didn't and agreed to try another. My thinking this time was maybe a more straight forward tobacco flavor might win her over. So I gave her a Lucky Strike portion. This one made it about five minutes before she said it was making her sick to her stomach. So my last effort was Gotland Green. She tried it...kept it in maybe ten minutes. So I left her the can. These three portions were tried approximately a week apart from one another. I gave her a few days and she now refuses to try any more snus. She says the salt is the problem. I'm thinking the problem is she really doesn't want to quit smoking. The old saying you can lead a horse to water but can't make him drink held true in this situation. I have had to give up.

[bearcat87]

I tried also with my Mom. She too has dentures but didn't like it. She leads a pretty secluded life and I believe that smoking is not only a hobby for her but a friend that is always there for her.

I could not be in her situation and still smoke. She coughs as much as someone with TB and uses more meds than an AIDS patient. It's sad and I feel like I have let her down in a way.

My father simply is not interested because he just likes smoke. But he switched from cigs to cigars so he is inhaling less but nonetheless still inhaling.

We can only do what's in reason. Don't stress out over it.

[rickcharles606]

I gave my mom a general mini mint, she said it tasted like toothpaste and that she doesn't like flavors like that. So I gave her a Gen Reg poriton and she liked the flavor and kept it in for about 15 mnutes before saying, Oh Whooooa, now that's a nicotine buzz"...lol.

Mom seems really interested in quitting, but dad, not so much. Just going to keep encouraging him and providing information. Mom's making her first order tonight!! Gonna get her to try several different flavors, but my thinking is that she's going to like the more "straightforward" flavors of snus. I figure what she doesn't use, I will end up with..lol

[Ainkor]

My wife has upper dentures and she can't seem to get a portion to stick up there. She lower lips the portions and does just fine!

There was someone else on the boards that has dentures that snuses but I can't for the life of me remember who it was.

As for getting others to try snus, well, nicotine is an incredibly addictive substance and most folks are just happy as a bug in a rug with what they have and won't change unless they die or have to to not die.

The research I've seen so far about American's and snus show that around 10% of the people who were introduced to snus even try it longer than the first attempt. There is some sort of fixation with the guy with half his jaw gone that sticks in peoples minds.

People ask me all the time how I quit smoking and I always share with them what I use, but almost everyone gives the same response "You put that shit in your mouth?"

I gently remind them that they are putting "that shit" right into their lungs and what they do is upwards of 100 to 1000 times worse for you that what I do. Some folks try it, some don't and only 1 person I know still regularly uses it, my wife!

I try to take an educational approach and when the time is right, they will reach out for something to replace smoking. I always think of my grandfather though. He quit smoking about 30 years before he died and he gave me a hard time about smoking when I was in my 20's. I asked him if he still wanted a smoke and he said every damn day of his life.

I'd hate to have to live like that missing something that I truly enjoy (nicotine).

[jackolantern]

For many smokers, snus is just too far of a jump. Moving from instant nicotine hits smoked to a more gradual, constant nicotine source from oral tobacco may just be too foreign. I think you have to really get interested in it, and I really want to give it a go.

However, for others trying to convert their parents, or other older smokers, you could perhaps try to introduce them to an e-cigarette. They are much less harmful than real cigs, and they still satisfy the smoker's "hand-to-mouth" habit that is missing in snus. Check out http://thesmokelessshop.com/. This site sells the best e-cigs you can get at decent prices with very fast shipping. Do not mess with any e-cig that you can buy in the stores right now, or in the mall kiosks. Those are all garbage. You may also want to let them know that it is a new technology, so it is a bit finicky and can take some time for them to get used to it. Once they do, if they use just it for 1 week, real cigs will feel awkward and taste like crap and they will not want them. Guaranteed. It delivers the instant nic hit like a real cig, they still have the "smoke" (which is water vapor), and some of them even look like real cigarettes. Perhaps try buying them a kit as a present, and then guilt them into using it.

[Jason]

I wish you guys luck in your quest for converts.....sometimes I really just feel like a salesman peddling wares.

I think the real difference is that most of us here were honestly looking for a viable alternative to smoking, did the research, and just made some trial and error runs before we could honestly say that we liked snus. There are an awful lot of people out there who just simply do not want to go through that trouble, even if they know it will be better for them. It's just like everything else in this convenience-filled world.....if it doesn't satisfy the first time out, it's not worth trying again. :?

[rickcharles606]

Jason I think you're right. A person really has to "want" to quit smoking or dipping, or whatever. The people that I speak to about snusing are like
"how do you know it's safer?", and countless other excuses for them to continue doing what they want. Why not just sack up and say..."I want to keep smoking or dipping, cuz that's what I truly want to do."

I do however believe that there are smokers out there that felt just like I did. I hated smoking all but two cigs a day. First thing in the morning and after dinner. The rest were simply to get my fix. I hated being Philip Morris' and RJReynold's bitch. I wanted to quit, and had tried multiple things and failed and that made me feel small inside, and I'm an "A" type personality...I don't like feeling that way!

This sounds corny, but real Swedish snus added years to my life that I will be able to spend with my wife and 5 kids. So thanks again to all you that continue to welcome new people into the fold and educate them about this reduced harm alternative to other harmful nicotine delivery vehicles.

[Daidone]

My experiences, and those of my others have taught me that God helps those who help themselves for a good reason. Helping people people who won't help themselves nearly always leads to disappointment.

Yeah, it sucks, but so does, it seems, about 3/4ths of life. :|

[justintempler]

I have a full set of dentures. Nicotine absorbtion is not a problem. I smoked for 38 years and was up to 3 packs a day before I switched to snus. When I first started snusing I even had a couple times when I had so much nicotine it made me feel sick. So there is NO reason why snus won't work for denture wearers.

People are just using dentures as an excuse.

[rickcharles606]

Thanks Justin, I'll pass along the info. It's not so much that he's using it as an excuse, he just wanted to know if the dentures would affect vitamin N uptake.

I'll let you all know how it works out.